


Oatmilk

by berublosssom



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Eventual Smut, F/M, M/M, Minor Marco Bott/Jean Kirstein
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 19:54:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29988000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/berublosssom/pseuds/berublosssom
Summary: She comes in nearly every day, orders a drink, and sits in the same corner studying. He always takes her order, and wonders who she is. Her mysteriousness ends when he takes a kickboxing class.College!BertAnnie with a blushing barista Bertholdt and his cool kickboxing instructor Annie. Updating weekly.
Relationships: Bertolt Hoover/Annie Leonhart, Marco Bott/Jean Kirstein
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	Oatmilk

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! This is one of my first writings in a long time. BertAnnie is quite underrated and needs more love. I'm finishing up college right now and I can't stop daydreaming about what the snk characters would be like in college. So here it is.

The new semester of school brought with it many possibilities. With it brought the August heat; the sweltering humidity that made most people want to sit inside with the A.C. blasting. 

Bertholdt was not exempt to being affected by the heat. If anything, he was affected by it more than most people. Sweat lined his forehead as he left the campus bus and headed towards the cafe. Luckily for him, the cafe was always cold, and he could make himself ice-cold drinks during his break. 

It was Bertholdt’s first day of junior year at Paradis University. This semester was shaping up to be his busiest yet. Amidst 18 credit hours, a couple of intensive labs, and working six hours a week, it wouldn’t be a breeze. He wondered if he would have enough time to go to the gym with Reiner, or to attend the weekly DnD night with Armin and Marco. Bertholdt assured himself that he was a junior, not the nervous eighteen year old that entered college, and that he could make it. 

Still, he didn’t normally work so much. He had given his boss--a sweet girl named Historia--his schedule for her to put his shifts around. He was aiming for a measly four hours a week, he told her. She texted him his schedule with a smiley face, indicating that she really didn’t care and that he had to work more. Historia was nice, and looked quite innocent, but she could cut a bitch if she wanted too. Bertholdt didn’t want to be the bitch in this instance. 

There were some positives about working more often, like that he could earn more and maybe send some money back home to his father. He liked his job, as well. Historia was a pretty good manager overall. The customers were college students, so pretty relaxed compared to another chain location where he would get yelled at by boomers. 

He had worked at this location since freshman year, and Bertholdt wasn’t expecting things to be any different. Today was practically the same as any other day, although he wished he wasn’t as sweaty. He forgot to bring a spare uniform, so instead he tried his best to cool off and freshen up in the bathroom. 

His shift started at 7am, which wasn’t too much of an issue for Bertholdt. He was a heavy sleeper, sure, but it was nothing compared to being in the pool at 5am for swim practice in high school. 

The first half an hour went by quickly. There weren’t many people out so early, but the few who showed up were clearly tired, likely from mentally still being on a summer schedule. He worked as the cashier today, taking people’s orders and names. As he clicked buttons on the tablet, he would overhear conversations of friends reuniting and optimism for a new semester. It filled Bertholdt with a sense of optimism, and he couldn’t wait to see his friends this semester. The only one he really saw was Reiner. It was easy to see him because they were from the same town, Liberio. The cafe was filled with voices chatting and the French lo-fi music that his coworker Jean insisted on. 

As the time passed by, it started to get a bit busier. The line was still quite short; only three people at a time compared to the hellish time around 11am when upwards of twenty people would be in the line at once. He would much rather wake up early compared to having to deal with so many people. Bertholdt was feeling good this morning, the earlier sweat having gone away. Feeling at ease that it had been calm so far, he reset the tablet for a new order and waved to the girl who was next in line. 

She stealthily approached the counter. A little bit of heat rose to Bertholdt’s cheeks. She was beautiful. She had golden hair, a distinctive nose, and icy blue eyes that reminded Bertholdt of the glacier cruise that he had spent last summer on--the blue glaciers that floated in the clear water. 

“Hello?” she said to him, and his daydreams of the sea quickly vanished. This was inappropriate, he thought; he was at work and she was just a random stranger who wanted a drink. 

The aforementioned sweat came back and lined his face again; this time due to the pretty girl in front of him. “S-Sorry! Can you please repeat that?” 

“Um, can I just get a medium iced chai?” She looked him directly in the eyes, seemingly not having noticed that Bertholdt was mentally in another dimension a second ago. 

“Alright! Coming right up, it’ll be $3.00,” Bertholdt put her order information into the computer. She quickly swiped out her student I.D. and handed it to him. With a quick tap, he handed it back to her. “And what is the name for your order?” 

“Annie,” she said quietly, again looking him directly in the eyes, and again making him feel a tinge of embarrassment. 

“Okay, Annie. Your name will be called when it is ready.” He carefully put her cup on the counter beside him. Without thinking, he mechanically tapped for the next order, and waved over the next customer. A few minutes later, he heard her name being called, and in the corner of his eye he saw her pick up her order and head to the corner of the lounge area. Here at Paradis University, with tens of thousands of students, Bertholdt believed that he would likely never see her again. 

Lucky for Bertholdt, Annie had herself on a regular schedule. Her routine was like clockwork. Every Tuesday and Thursday, she would show up, order an iced chai, and go to the corner of the lounge. There, she would put headphones in her ear, her notebook on the table, and study for two hours. She would always be alone and seemed intensely focused on whatever class she was studying for. Bertholdt wondered what major she was, what year she was in. Unlike most college students that had colorfully decorated laptops with personal information, Annie’s laptop was plain. If he really wanted to, Bertholdt could try to sneak a peek at her student I.D. for her last name, but he quickly disregarded that idea as creepy.  
Eventually, the weeks went on by, and Bertholdt stopped arriving to work so sweaty. He could occasionally look over at her out of the corner of his eye, and then remember that he was at work and he had to be professional. It was now September. He was doing pretty well, getting enough sleep, and still managed to go to the gym with Reiner on a regular schedule. 

Admittedly, the gym at Paradis University was nice. It had been renovated several years prior to Bertholdt’s enrollment at the school. Sure, the nuclear engineering building was decaying and maybe contained asbestos, but at least the gym was nice. The college needed somewhere to show-off to prospective students, after all. 

Five o’clock in the evening was when he and Reiner would hit the gym. Reiner preferred lifting weights while Bertholdt preferred cardio. To compromise, their gym routine consisted of first lifting weights and then subsequently running along the indoor track that looped around the entire gym. They could theoretically run outdoors, but that meant more heat, which also coincided with a more sweaty Bertholdt. 

“Damn,” Reiner had his hands on his knees, huffing out as exhaustion. “I always forget how fast you are, Bertl,” the blonde man took a big gulp of water from a bottle. 

“I’m not that fast Reiner. Besides, you have more muscle than me, so you have to pull more weight,” Bertholdt knew that Reiner was a great athlete; much better than him--and he thought that Reiner always over exaggerated his speed. 

“Whatever,” Reiner said, too tired to argue. “Dinner at Maria’s?” 

Bertholdt took a sip of his own water bottle and nodded his head. Maria’s was the diner-themed restaurant that was quite popular on campus. Bertholdt enjoyed it, but he didn’t like going there too often. He knew that too much grease would make his stomach upset. 

Lucky for the two guys, they came at a time with light traffic and were able to be quickly seated. 

“So,” Reiner started the conversation, “I heard about this new workout class the gym is offering. I think it may be nice to check out.” 

Bertholdt sucked up the pop from his straw. “What class is it?”

“Kickboxing. Sounds interesting, right? And the first class is free. After that it’s 5 bucks.” 

“That sounds kind of fun.” Better than lifting weights every night, Bertholdt thought. 

“So next Tuesday it is?” 

“Sure,” Bertholdt nodded. A light smile appeared on his face. He was pretty happy with everything. His classes weren’t too difficult, he could start this new workout class with Reiner, and work wasn’t boring. 

The next Tuesday, Bertholdt had started his day off at work. He got to see Marco, who stopped by the shop; primarily for Jean, but he still said hi to Bertholdt. The blonde girl--or Annie---appeared again, ordering her drink and going into the same spot that she always did. Bertholdt wondered what was behind her computer screen; what kind of music she was listening to in her headphones. He saw her furrow her brows and looked at the computer screen with an expression of annoyance. Bertholdt wondered if maybe he knew the answer to whatever problem she was working on; if he could be more useful to her than being the guy to places her tea order. 

After his final class for the day, Bertholdt headed back to his apartment that he shared with Reiner and two brothers named Porco and Marcel. He changed into black athletic pants and a short-sleeved t-shirt from a swim meet in high school that miraculously still fit him. Ice cubes cluncked as he put them into his water bottle. 

“Reiner, I’m ready to go to the gym!” Bertholdt bent down on his knees to tie his tennis shoes. He wondered if tennis shoes were even used during kickboxing. 

“Okay, me too.” Reiner appeared in the kitchen and filled up his own water bottle with ice, grabbing a granola bar as well. 

Bertholdt was a little nervous for kickboxing class, but part of that nervousness was likely excitement. He loved learning new things, whether it be from a documentary or a book. Kickboxing wasn’t as practical as maybe some other skills, but it would still be a good way to add some variety to his workouts. 

Reiner led Bertholdt to the workout room. It was in the basement, far away from the running track, and he realized he had never been in this section of the gym. This must be where the workout classes are, he thought to himself. “See that room to the very left at the end of the hallway?”

Bertholdt glanced over, locating the room, and then nodding. 

“That’s where it is. I’m going to go get a locker. You need one as well?”

Bertholdt put his hands in his pockets and felt for his phone and wallet. “Here,” He handed it to Reiner. “I don’t need my own locker; I can just put this stuff in yours.”

The next thing Bertholdt knew, he and Reiner were stepping into the classroom. Beneath his feet, he felt squishy mats. “Looks like we’re a bit early,” Reiner said, heading over to the side, taking his shoes off. Bertholdt glanced around the room. There were a couple of other people there, including a bald guy and a girl with brown hair. 

Betholdt went to the bench at the back of the classroom to take his shoes off following Reiner. 

“Annie!” Bertholdt immediately felt his heart start beating quickly and he quickly looked up. Across the room was Reiner greeting Annie, the girl from the coffee shop. 

She was dressed in tight black leggings that hugged her ass and a loose white t-shirt. Her hair was up in a bun like it always was. She appeared to know Reiner, but she seemed a bit apprehensive at his presence. Bertholdt kicked off his shoes into the cubby and stood up, heading towards Reiner and Annie. He wondered how Reiner knew Annie, if they were friends, if they had anything in common. 

“This is my buddy Bertholdt here,” Reiner slapped Bertholdt’s shoulders, leading the tall brunette to edge closer to Annie. 

Annie looked up at Bertholdt. He never realized the height difference between them. Maybe a foot? She had a look in her eyes that he looked familiar. “Hi Bertholdt,” Annie said. “I’m Annie.”

Bertholdt put his hand on his neck and blushed a little bit at the eye contact. “Hi Annie, nice to meet you.”

Reiner’s extraverted self continued onto chatting with Annie, “So, is this your first time at kickboxing class?” 

A tiny smile appeared on Annie’s lips. “Reiner, I’m the instructor.” 

Bertholdt’s blush deeped ever farther. He never thought he would see her outside of the cafe, much less as the instructor for the class. His blush turned into nervousness. He knew nothing about kickboxing! He was going to make a fool out of himself during class, therefore embarrassing himself, and he could never return to work or take her order again and---

Bertholdt’s intrusive thoughts were delayed when he noticed Reiner was flat on his ass; or more so his back. Annie had catapulted Reiner to the floor. How was that even possible? How could a five foot woman kick Reiner’s 200lb ass? But she had, unless a ghost did it. 

“Haha, you got me there Annie.” Reiner was laughing but slightly out of breath. 

“It’s good you’re here. You could learn a thing or two,” Annie told Reiner. She then handed Reiner and Bertholdt boxing gloves. 

The class ended up being a group of fifteen people. Bertholdt learned a lot; there were so many different punches and angles to do things. He would look at Annie and try to figure out the best form. There were two students--a bald guy and a girl with a ponytail--that were high energy, and held most of Annie’s attention. Annie went across the room, looking at each pair and giving feedback. Eventually, she made her way to Bertholdt and Reiner. She examined them for a couple of punches back and forth. “Bertholdt, you need to put a little bit more energy into it; Reiner’s a big guy. You don’t need to hold back on him” 

He nodded his head. Bertholdt was determined to do it right. His left hand connected with Reiner’s right. “That’s good,” Annie nodded. “But try to aim downwards a little bit since you’re taller.” Annie gently guided his hand down a couple of centimeters. “Try it again.” Bertholdt did it again and it did feel a bit more powerful. The next punch he did felt even better. He looked to get Annie’s approval, but she had disappeared over to the other side of the classroom. 

The hour-long class was over and Bertholdt tied his tennis shoes back on. He enjoyed kickboxing. The power that he felt when a punch made contact felt good. He told himself that it would probably become a weekly thing. Reiner helped Annie put the boxing gloves back into the storage room. Everyone else in the class had already left. Bertholdt decided that he would thank Annie for the class. After all, he learned a lot in only an hour. By the time he had made up his mind though, Reiner and Annie were heading towards the door. 

“C’mon Bertholdt, we’re going to Maria’s!” Was Annie coming with them? She sure seemed to be following Reiner.

“O-ok!”

It turned out that Reiner had pressured Annie into eating dinner with them. She had initially said no, but then her stomach gave out a growl, and Reiner took that as a yes. 

Bertholdt learned that Annie preferred chicken tenders to burgers, and that she was more of a chocolate milkshake person than vanilla. Reiner explained to Bertholdt that Annie was in his nutrition class last year. They had to work on a group project, and of course Reiner decided to pick the quietest person out of the class and get them to work with him. That’s how he and Bertholdt met as well. 

That night, Annie became more than just the girl in the cafe corner. Aside from her food preferences, he learned that she was majoring in Exercise Science. He also learned that she was a distinguished Muay Thai fighter, and she preferred fighting over kickboxing. 

“Bertholdt, to shut Reiner from talking all night,” Annie looked at him across the diner booth. “What are you studying?”

Bertholdt gulped down his own milkshake, trying to clear it from his throat as fast as possible so he could reply. “Nuclear engineering,” he continued on. “It’s pretty interesting, but a lot of homework.”

“So you’re a big nerd, huh?” 

His cheeks flushed cherry red. “N-no! I’m not a nerd. It’s practical and-”

Reiner cut Bertholdt off. “Bertl’s the biggest nerd; he plays DnD every week with his friends.” 

“Eeh! Reiner, you’re wrong I-” Berthold’s sentence was cut off by Annie laughing. This was the happiest he had seen her. She looked up at Bertholdt. 

“There’s nothing bad with being a nerd, you know. I just saw you and my nerd-ar went off.”

Eventually Bertholdt’s milkshake was consumed and everyone had finished their meal. Reiner and Bertholdt bid Annie farewell, and they promised to go to kickboxing class again next week. Annie walked in the opposite direction of Reiner and Bertholdt, heading back to her dorm that she shared with a girl named Hitch. 

“So, you like kickboxing, huh?” Reiner asked Bertholdt. The blonde’s hands were in his pocket and he was looking at the bell tower which clearly illuminated itself against the night sky. 

“Yeah, it’s fun. I feel like I learned a lot.”

They walked another block before the conversation continued. It was evening, but the campus night life was in full force. People were out skateboarding or chatting in the grass with their friends. 

“So,” Reiner had a sly look on his face.“When are you going to ask her out?”

“Who?” Bertholdt replied nonchalantly, not sure what his friend was talking about. 

“Annie!” Reiner exclaimed to Bertholdt, patting him on the shoulder. Bertholdt slowed down his walking pace.

“W-What?! What do you mean, she’s a nice person bu-” Bertholdt stopped talking when Reiner’s smirk grew to a smile.

“Dude, you are so obvious. You stare too much.” A combination of sweat and blood were on Bertholdt’s head. “But don’t worry,” Reiner continued. “I think she’s more oblivious than you are obvious. But you’re still pretty damn obvious.”

“O-oh.” Bertholdt hoped to himself that he was less obvious than Reiner thought, especially for Annie’s sake. He didn’t want her creeped out any time she went to the cafe. 

“You should really go for it. With life so unpredictable, who knows what will happen? I think you’d be a good match. If you need help coming up with a plan,” Reiner put his thumb towards himself, “..wing-bro Reiner is here to help.”

“Thanks, Reiner.” Bertholdt was appreciative that Reiner was so supportive of him. However, he really wasn’t sure that he would ever ask her out. She was his kickboxing instructor, after all! Albeit, she had only been that for a couple of hours. Feelings just made everything more complicated. It would make both his job and his gym time more complex. Bertholdt didn’t need complex; he had a lot of things on his plate and needed simple. 

His mind went to Annie. How her hair was always in a cute bun. How the hook of her nose was so beautiful. How when he looked into her eyes, he felt she could see right into her soul. How her skin was so pale, and that outfit she wore tonight. It was so simple, yet so hot. 

When he and Reiner got back to the apartment, Bertholdt called dibs for the shower. Reiner liked to take long showers and Bertholdt wasn’t letting him steal all of the hot water. He took off his clothes in the bathroom and oh. He was a little hard. Not a lot, but Bertholdt was a grower, and it was definitely bigger than its flaccid state. Bertholdt sighed and turned the shower water cold. 

After his shower, he got dressed into a new t-shirt and pair of underwear. He finished up his assignments and made sure his notes for classes were complete. Every night, Bertholdt eventually drifted into sleep. His consciousness came up with a similar story every night while his body rested; a story of humans versus monsters.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is being flushed out a lot more than I thought it would be, and I can't wait to see where it takes me. I'll be uploading every Thursday at minimum. Let me know if you have any feedback or want to beta-read. I rated it for explicit because of future chapters.


End file.
